scholarly journals De Novo Designed Heterochiral Blue Fluorescent Protein

ACS Omega ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (41) ◽  
pp. 26382-26388
Author(s):  
Vivek Prakash ◽  
Ranjit Ranbhor ◽  
Vibin Ramakrishnan
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 2127
Author(s):  
Jakub Suchodolski ◽  
Anna Krasowska

Candida albicans is a pathogenic fungus that is increasingly developing multidrug resistance (MDR), including resistance to azole drugs such as fluconazole (FLC). This is partially a result of the increased synthesis of membrane efflux transporters Cdr1p, Cdr2p, and Mdr1p. Although all these proteins can export FLC, only Cdr1p is expressed constitutively. In this study, the effect of elevated fructose, as a carbon source, on the MDR was evaluated. It was shown that fructose, elevated in the serum of diabetics, promotes FLC resistance. Using C. albicans strains with green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged MDR transporters, it was determined that the FLC-resistance phenotype occurs as a result of Mdr1p activation and via the increased induction of higher Cdr1p levels. It was observed that fructose-grown C. albicans cells displayed a high efflux activity of both transporters as opposed to glucose-grown cells, which synthesize Cdr1p but not Mdr1p. Additionally, it was concluded that elevated fructose serum levels induce the de novo production of Mdr1p after 60 min. In combination with glucose, however, fructose induces Mdr1p production as soon as after 30 min. It is proposed that fructose may be one of the biochemical factors responsible for Mdr1p production in C. albicans cells.


2005 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 383-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hoth ◽  
Alexander Schneidereit ◽  
Christian Lauterbach ◽  
Joachim Scholz-Starke ◽  
Norbert Sauer

2021 ◽  
pp. 247255522098504
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Simard ◽  
Linda Lee ◽  
Ellen Vieux ◽  
Reina Improgo ◽  
Trang Tieu ◽  
...  

The aberrant regulation of protein expression and function can drastically alter cellular physiology and lead to numerous pathophysiological conditions such as cancer, inflammatory diseases, and neurodegeneration. The steady-state expression levels of endogenous proteins are controlled by a balance of de novo synthesis rates and degradation rates. Moreover, the levels of activated proteins in signaling cascades can be further modulated by a variety of posttranslational modifications and protein–protein interactions. The field of targeted protein degradation is an emerging area for drug discovery in which small molecules are used to recruit E3 ubiquitin ligases to catalyze the ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of disease-causing target proteins by the proteasome in both a dose- and time-dependent manner. Traditional approaches for quantifying protein level changes in cells, such as Western blots, are typically low throughput with limited quantification, making it hard to drive the rapid development of therapeutics that induce selective, rapid, and sustained protein degradation. In the last decade, a number of techniques and technologies have emerged that have helped to accelerate targeted protein degradation drug discovery efforts, including the use of fluorescent protein fusions and reporter tags, flow cytometry, time-resolved fluorescence energy transfer (TR-FRET), and split luciferase systems. Here we discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with these technologies and their application to the development and optimization of degraders as therapeutics.


1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (22) ◽  
pp. 4101-4112 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ojima ◽  
Z.X. Lin ◽  
Z.Q. Zhang ◽  
T. Hijikata ◽  
S. Holtzer ◽  
...  

While over a dozen I-Z-I proteins are expressed in postmitotic myoblasts and myotubes it is unclear how, when, or where these first assemble into transitory I-Z-I bodies (thin filament/Z-band precursors) and, a short time later, into definitive I-Z-I bands. By double-staining the growth tips of transfected myotubes expressing (a) MYC-tagged s-alpha-actinins (MYC/s-alpha-actinins) or (b) green fluorescent protein-tagged titin cap (GFP/T-cap) with antibodies against MYC and I-Z-I band proteins, we found that the de novo assembly of I-Z-I bodies and their maturation into I-Z-I bands involved relatively concurrent, cooperative binding and reconfiguration of, at a minimum, 5 integral Z-band molecules. These included s-alpha-actinin, nebulin, titin, T-cap and alpha-actin. Resolution of the approximately 1.0 microm polarized alpha-actin/nebulin/tropomyosin/troponin thin filament complexes occurred subsequent to the maturation of Z-bands into a dense tetragonal configuration. Of particular interest is finding that mutant MYC/s-alpha-actinin peptides (a) lacking spectrin-like repeats 1–4, or consisting of spectrin-like repeats 1–4 only, as well as (b) mutants/fragments lacking titin or alpha-actin binding sites, were promptly and exclusively incorporated into de novo assembling I-Z-I bodies and definitive I-Z-I bands as was exogenous full length MYC/s-alpha-actinin or GFP/T-cap.


2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (20) ◽  
pp. 7682-7695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Tsuduki ◽  
Megumi Nakano ◽  
Nao Yasuoka ◽  
Saeko Yamazaki ◽  
Teruaki Okada ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) are promising reagents for the analysis of chromosome function. While HACs are maintained stably, the segregation mechanisms of HACs have not been investigated in detail. To analyze HACs in living cells, we integrated 256 copies of the Lac operator into a precursor yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) containing α-satellite DNA and generated green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged HACs in HT1080 cells expressing a GFP-Lac repressor fusion protein. Time-lapse analyses of GFP-HACs and host centromeres in living mitotic cells indicated that the HAC was properly aligned at the spindle midzone and that sister chromatids of the HAC separated with the same timing as host chromosomes and moved to the spindle poles with mobility similar to that of the host centromeres. These results indicate that a HAC composed of a multimer of input α-satellite YACs retains most of the functions of the centromeres on natural chromosomes. The only difference between the HAC and the host chromosome was that the HAC oscillated more frequently, at higher velocity, across the spindle midzone during metaphase. However, this provides important evidence that an individual HAC has the capacity to maintain tensional balance in the pole-to-pole direction, thereby stabilizing its position around the spindle midzone.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (13) ◽  
pp. 6368-6377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subash C. Das ◽  
Debasis Nayak ◽  
You Zhou ◽  
Asit K. Pattnaik

ABSTRACT The phosphoprotein (P) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a subunit of the viral RNA polymerase. In previous studies, we demonstrated that insertion of 19 amino acids in the hinge region of the protein had no significant effect on P protein function. In the present study, we inserted full-length enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) in frame into the hinge region of P and show that the fusion protein (PeGFP) is functional in viral genome transcription and replication, albeit with reduced activity. A recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus encoding PeGFP in place of the P protein (VSV-PeGFP), which possessed reduced growth kinetics compared to the wild-type VSV, was recovered. Using the recombinant VSV-PeGFP, we show that the viral replication proteins and the de novo-synthesized RNA colocalize to sites throughout the cytoplasm, indicating that replication and transcription are not confined to any particular region of the cytoplasm. Real-time imaging of the cells infected with the eGFP-tagged virus revealed that, following synthesis, the nucleocapsids are transported toward the cell periphery via a microtubule (MT)-mediated process, and the nucleocapsids were seen to be closely associated with mitochondria. Treatment of cells with nocodazole or Colcemid, drugs known to inhibit MT polymerization, resulted in accumulation of the nucleocapsids around the nucleus and also led to inhibition of infectious-virus production. These findings are compatible with a model in which the progeny viral nucleocapsids are transported toward the cell periphery by MT and the transport may be facilitated by mitochondria.


2019 ◽  
Vol 431 (17) ◽  
pp. 3191-3202
Author(s):  
Pil-Won Seo ◽  
Eun-Seo Jo ◽  
Sung-Hwan You ◽  
Dae-Eun Cheong ◽  
Geun-Joong Kim ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 207 (11) ◽  
pp. 2331-2341 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Grainger ◽  
Katie A. Smith ◽  
James P. Hewitson ◽  
Henry J. McSorley ◽  
Yvonne Harcus ◽  
...  

Foxp3-expressing regulatory T (T reg) cells have been implicated in parasite-driven inhibition of host immunity during chronic infection. We addressed whether parasites can directly induce T reg cells. Foxp3 expression was stimulated in naive Foxp3− T cells in mice infected with the intestinal helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus. In vitro, parasite-secreted proteins (termed H. polygyrus excretory-secretory antigen [HES]) induced de novo Foxp3 expression in fluorescence-sorted Foxp3− splenocytes from Foxp3–green fluorescent protein reporter mice. HES-induced T reg cells suppressed both in vitro effector cell proliferation and in vivo allergic airway inflammation. HES ligated the transforming growth factor (TGF) β receptor and promoted Smad2/3 phosphorylation. Foxp3 induction by HES was lost in dominant-negative TGF-βRII cells and was abolished by the TGF-β signaling inhibitor SB431542. This inhibitor also reduced worm burdens in H. polygyrus–infected mice. HES induced IL-17 in the presence of IL-6 but did not promote Th1 or Th2 development under any conditions. Importantly, antibody to mammalian TGF-β did not recognize HES, whereas antisera that inhibited HES did not affect TGF-β. Foxp3 was also induced by secreted products of Teladorsagia circumcincta, a related nematode which is widespread in ruminant animals. We have therefore identified a novel pathway through which helminth parasites may stimulate T reg cells, which is likely to be a key part of the parasite’s immunological relationship with the host.


2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (23) ◽  
pp. 6154-6159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey D. Gilk ◽  
Paul A. Beare ◽  
Robert A. Heinzen

ABSTRACT Coxiella burnetii, the etiological agent of human Q fever, occupies a unique niche inside the host cell, where it replicates in a modified acidic phagolysosome or parasitophorous vacuole (PV). The PV membrane is cholesterol-rich, and inhibition of host cholesterol metabolism negatively impacts PV biogenesis and pathogen replication. The precise source(s) of PV membrane cholesterol is unknown, as is whether the bacterium actively diverts and/or modifies host cell cholesterol or sterol precursors. C. burnetii lacks enzymes for de novo cholesterol biosynthesis; however, the organism encodes a eukaryote-like Δ24 sterol reductase homolog, CBU1206. Absent in other prokaryotes, this enzyme is predicted to reduce sterol double bonds at carbon 24 in the final step of cholesterol or ergosterol biosynthesis. In the present study, we examined the functional activity of CBU1206. Amino acid alignments revealed the greatest sequence identity (51.7%) with a Δ24 sterol reductase from the soil amoeba Naegleria gruberi. CBU1206 activity was examined by expressing the protein in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae erg4 mutant under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter. Erg4 is a yeast Δ24 sterol reductase responsible for the final reduction step in ergosterol synthesis. Like Erg4-green fluorescent protein (GFP), a CBU1206-GFP fusion protein localized to the yeast endoplasmic reticulum. Heterologous expression of CBU1206 rescued S. cerevisiae erg4 sensitivity to growth in the presence of brefeldin A and cycloheximide and resulted in new synthesis of ergosterol. These data indicate CBU1206 is an active sterol reductase and suggest the enzyme may act on host sterols during C. burnetii intracellular growth.


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